Aniak, Alaska

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Aniak (Anyaraq in Central Yup'ik) is a city in the Bethel Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2000 census the population was 572.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 Notes
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Aniak is located at 61°34′44″N, 159°33′1″W (61.578821, -159.550255)^GR1.

Aniak is on the south bank of the Kuskokwim River at the head of Aniak Slough. It is 95 km (59 miles) southwest of Russian Mission in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Aniak is 148 km (92 miles) by air northeast of Bethel.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.8 km² (8.8 mi²). 16.9 km² (6.5 mi²) of it is land and 5.9 km² (2.3 mi²) of it (25.82%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 572 people, 174 households, and 133 families residing in the city. The population density was 33.9/km² (87.8/mi²). There were 203 housing units at an average density of 12.0/km² (31.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 25.00% White, 0.35% Black or African American, 68.36% Native American, 0.52% Asian, and 5.77% from two or more races. 1.05% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 174 households out of which 51.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.0% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.29 and the average family size was 3.74.

In the city the population was spread out with 40.9% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 4.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 108.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,875, and the median income for a family was $43,750. Males had a median income of $37,708 versus $34,500 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,550. About 11.8% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.4% of those under age 18 and 12.5% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

Shoreline of the Kuskokwim River at Aniak

Aniak was the Yup'ik name for the area around present-day Aniak. The word means "the place where it comes out"; that is, where the Aniak River flows into the Kuskokwim. By the time Russian explorers began making contact with the native population along the mid Kuskokwim valley in the early 19th century, the native village of Aniak had been deserted.

It was believed by 20th century prospectors that the early Russian traders discovered gold in a tributary to the Kuskokwim called "Yellow River" in 1832. Many think that the Yellow River these traders referred to is the Aniak River.^[1] A mercury deposit was discovered by Russian traders near the trading post called Kolmakov Redoubt 22 miles east of Aniak in 1838. ^[2] Placer gold was found by Russian traders in New York Creek 30 miles east of Aniak in 1844. ^[3] The Russians however did not engage in any significant mining activities and it wasn't until after the purchase of Alaska in 1867 that the American prospectors began seriously investigating the potential for prospecting along the Kuskokwim river. A handful of prospecting parties began venturing into the area, however they had to travel great distances to an area where trading posts were few and far between, so the activity was limited especially given the exposure other late 19th century strikes in Alaska which were better served by existing infrastructure.

The euphoria caused by the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897-98 would set the stage for a change however with thousands of prospectors across the territory poised to make a rush upon rumor of each potential new strike. One such rush was the Yellow River Stampede of 1900 in which many prospectors left Nome to venture into the Kuskokwim basin upon rumors that someone had found the Yellow River strike despite the fact that the location of that strike was unknown. Finding precious little gold and experiencing substantial hardship, many of these folks would return to Nome following the difficult winter of 1901, but some stayed behind to continue their search. A 1906 gold discovery at the head of the Innoko River which is a tributary to the Yukon River caused another gold rush in 1907 with many of the prospectors choosing to access the site via the Kuskokwim River instead and trading posts were established at the Takotna River which required riverboat service to travel the Kuskokwim river. With riverboat service now available on the Kukskokwim river, prospecting activity picked up and some strikes were starting to occur in the Kuskokwim basin. Strikes were made at Crooked Creek, George River, New York Creek, and Aniak River among others. Most were short lived, however, the Kuskokwim River was now seeing an increase in river traffic that needed servicing.

In 1914, Tom L. Johnson homesteaded the site of the long-abandoned Yup'ik village in the Aniak area and opened a store and post office there to service prospectors and miners in the vicinity. Willie Pete and Sam Simeon brought their Yup'ik families from Ohagamiut to Aniak. In 1936 a territorial school was opened. In anticipation of the Lend-Lease program to help supply Russia with war materials, construction of an airfield began in 1939. With the airfield in place, Aniak became the transportation hub for villages in the area including Chuathbaluk, Anvik, Kalskag, Crooked Creek, Holy Cross and others. In 1956 during the Cold War, construction of a White Alice Relay Station began bringing money, jobs, and communication capability to the area. As a result, the local population more than doubled from 142 in 1950 to 308 in 1960. The 2000 census places Aniak's population at 572.

[edit] Notes

^ Brown, Charles M. Alaska's Kuskokwim River Region. Bureau of Land Management. Anchorage, Alaska: Bureau of Land Management, State Office, 1983. 101.
^ Spurr, J.E., 1900, A reconnaissance in southwestern Alaska in 1898: U.S. Geological Survey 20th Annual Report, Part 7, p. 31-264.
^ Berry, M.J., 1973, A history of mining on the Kenai Peninsula: Seattle, Washington, Alaska Northwest Publishing Company, 214 p.